Chapter Summaries

Nocturne and Kallen discussed what to do with the Valkyries they had defeated, whom Kallen refused to abandon. Nocturne proposed attacking Schicksal HQ and replacing its corrupt leadership so Kallen could take control of the organization.

• Nocturne explained that most Valkyries had been indoctrinated by the Heavenly Mandate and would not follow Kallen into rebellion.
• Kallen asked Nocturne not to kill their former companions, and Nocturne agreed to keep them alive but warned that they could not be released.
• Kallen suggested imprisoning the Valkyries, but hesitated when Nocturne asked how long they could keep them locked up.
• Nocturne proposed going to Schicksal HQ, removing the rotten upper ranks, and putting someone else in control of the Heavenly Mandate.
• Nocturne recognized that Kallen, Yae Sakura, and the others could not easily take control of the organization, even though Nocturne herself had the power to do so.

Nocturne argued that Otto should take control of Schicksal, trusting his devotion to Kallen and resistance to power. Kallen rejected the idea, warning that Otto’s forbidden experiments could endanger humanity if he became Schicksal’s leader.

• Nocturne considered Otto the only suitable person to replace Schicksal’s leadership, citing his centuries of service and devotion to Kallen.
• Nocturne told Kallen that Otto would never be tempted by power and should lead Schicksal.
• Kallen objected that Schicksal was too powerful to challenge and feared its leader might become like its current higher-ups.
• Nocturne insisted she was confident in her SSS-rank strength and named Otto Apocalypse as her choice.
• Kallen rejected Otto, explaining that his taboo experiments could bring disaster to human civilization.

Nocturne and Kallen prepared to leave the Far Eastern Land so Kallen could help Otto take control of Schicksal. Kallen planned to retire with Nocturne, Yae Sakura, and the others after resolving the crisis and ending her engagement to Otto.

• Nocturne and Kallen packed their luggage before sunrise and prepared to leave the Far Eastern Land.
• Kallen agreed to Nocturne's plan because she believed Otto would listen to her and would rule better than Schicksal's current leaders.
• Kallen rejected the idea of taking control of Schicksal herself, judging it both difficult and unsuited to her.
• Kallen decided that after resolving the matter with Nocturne, she would cancel her engagement to Otto and retire with Nocturne, Yae Sakura, and the others.

Nocturne prepared to leave the shrine with Kallen for Schicksal HQ, leaving the others behind to guard the imprisoned Valkyries and care for Hiyoumaru. After saying their goodbyes, Nocturne and Kallen departed with light luggage.

• Nocturne reassured Yae Rin that she and Kallen would return after handling their business.
• Nocturne told Yae Rin to guard the imprisoned Valkyries while she was away.
• Nocturne asked Yae Sakura and Hokushin Mei to keep training, care for Hiyoumaru, and ensure the imprisoned Valkyries were fed.
• Yae Sakura and Hokushin Mei promised to take care of everything at the shrine.
• Nocturne and Kallen said goodbye to the others and left for Schicksal HQ.

After Nocturne and Kallen left for Europe, Yae Sakura, Yae Rin, and Hokushin Mei tried to carry on at the shrine, but Rin soon discovered Hiyoumaru was missing. Nocturne and Kallen hurried northeast toward the ship that had brought the captured Valkyries to the Far Eastern Land.

• Yae Rin worried about how long Nocturne and Kallen would be gone, and Hokushin Mei estimated the voyage between Europe and the Far Eastern Land would take over a month by ship.
• Yae Sakura reassured Yae Rin that Nocturne was invincible, and Hokushin Mei agreed that her Master was the strongest.
• Yae Sakura told the others to tidy the shrine and wait for Nocturne and Kallen to return.
• Yae Rin went to find Hiyoumaru, intending to reform her and surprise Nocturne, while Yae Sakura went to make breakfast.
• Yae Rin returned half an hour later and announced that Hiyoumaru was gone.
• Nocturne and Kallen hurried northeast near the border of Shinano and Echigo toward the ship identified by the captured Valkyries.

Nocturne and Kallen headed toward Schicksal HQ, but Hiyoumaru revealed that she had secretly followed them and insisted on joining them for fried tofu. Nocturne agreed to take her along, while Kallen remained wary of bringing a Herrscher with them.

• Nocturne stopped and called out the person following them from the bushes.
• Hiyoumaru emerged and said she had followed Nocturne so she would not be abandoned without fried tofu.
• Nocturne picked Hiyoumaru up and agreed to bring her along.
• Hiyoumaru said she had left a letter for Yae Sakura and the others.
• Kallen voiced concern about traveling with a Herrscher, but Nocturne assured her she had everything under control.

Nocturne and Kallen boarded a Schicksal ship on the coast of Echigo and began their long voyage to Schicksal HQ in Europe. They left the shore safely, and Kallen said the ship’s Valkyrie passengers would deter pirates.

• Nocturne and Kallen reached the coast of Echigo and found the ship where the Valkyries had docked.
• Kallen confirmed she could steer the ship, and Nocturne urged them to set off.
• Kallen adjusted the controls and sailed the ship away from shore with Nocturne and Hiyoumaru aboard.
• Nocturne learned that the trip to Schicksal HQ would take a long time and that the sea could bring storms and pirates.
• Kallen explained that pirates would avoid a Schicksal ship because Valkyries could destroy entire fleets.

Nocturne asked Kallen to help her meet Otto at Schicksal and obtain Judah before they infiltrated headquarters. Their journey continued as Nocturne teased Kallen while she steered the ship.

• Nocturne asked Kallen to arrange a private meeting with Otto and keep their arrival discreet.
• Nocturne explained that she wanted Otto to provide Kallen's Judah so they would have the Divine Key during their break-in.
• Kallen said she had already notified Otto, who would arrange for Judah to be delivered when they arrived.
• Nocturne asked whether Otto could tell she was not really Kallen, then embraced Kallen as she steered the ship.
• Nocturne teased Kallen about her chest, and Kallen blushed and pushed her away.

Nocturne and Kallen sailed across the ocean, gathering seafood and enduring the long journey. They reached a remote shore, where nuns delivered the enormous object Kallen had requested from Otto.

• Nocturne teased Kallen before diving into the sea to catch seafood.
• Nocturne returned to the ship with a huge pile of seafood and asked Kallen to stop so they could feast.
• Nocturne, Kallen, and Hiyamaru continued sailing until they reached their destination.
• Kallen docked in a remote place to avoid attracting Schicksal's attention.
• The waiting nuns told Kallen that Otto had prepared her requested item and asked whether she needed anything else.
• Kallen thanked the nuns and approached the large crate.

Kallen remained a wanted fugitive in Europe while Otto’s allies helped her. She examined a chained Judas’s Oath, the Key of Binding, whose power could strip even a powerful Herrscher of her strength.

• A red-haired nun warned Kallen that Schicksal had made her Europe’s scapegoat for the Black Death and urged her to avoid being found.
• Kallen accepted the danger and did not regret her actions, which she believed had saved lives and brought her to the people she cherished.
• Kallen opened a chest and found a massive golden Cross wrapped in thick iron chains.
• The chapter explained that the Cross was Judas’s Oath, the Key of Binding, and that its full power could turn even a peak-strength Herrscher into an ordinary person.
• Several powerful Valkyrie nuns had carried the Cross because it weighed over a thousand kilograms.

Kallen collected Judah and headed with Nocturne to Otto’s countryside estate, where Nocturne entered alone while Kallen waited outside with Hiyoumaru. Kallen was left hoping Nocturne would not do anything reckless.

• Kallen took Judah from the nuns and asked where Otto was.
• Kallen declined the nuns’ offer to escort her, then waited until they had left before calling Nocturne ashore.
• Nocturne joined Kallen with Hiyoumaru, and they agreed to find Otto while Nocturne promised to keep them concealed.
• Kallen and Nocturne reached Otto’s estate, where Nocturne handed Hiyoumaru to Kallen and went inside alone.

Nocturne met Otto, who anxiously checked on her after hearing she had been shot. Otto then asked her to return the stolen box and promised to protect her, but she refused.

• Otto waited at the entrance after learning Nocturne was coming to see him.
• Otto hurried to Nocturne and asked whether she was safe and recovering from her gunshot wound.
• Nocturne considered Otto’s feelings for Kallen and her own resentment toward him, while recognizing that this era’s Otto had not committed the later crimes she knew about.
• Otto asked Nocturne to return the box, promising to plead with Schicksal and protect her.
• Nocturne refused to hand over the box.

Nightingale kept Kallen hidden after she refused Otto’s offer to clear her name, while Otto hinted that he had begun making his own plans. Once her mission ended, Nightingale teased Otto by asking whether he loved Kallen and telling him that Kallen saw him only as a close friend.

• Otto accepted that Kallen would remain hidden and promised her grievances would soon be cleared.
• Nightingale asked Otto what he was planning, but he said she would find out soon.
• Nightingale waited for her mission to finish without revealing that she was not this world’s Kallen.
• After the mission ended, Nightingale asked Otto if he loved Kallen.
• Nightingale told Otto that Kallen did not love him and saw him only as a close friend.

Kallen rushed in to protect Nocturne after Otto drew a gun on her, leaving Otto bewildered by the appearance of two identical Kallens. He apologized and accepted the arriving Kallen as the real one, but still wanted to know who Nocturne was.

• Otto drew his gun on Nocturne after she said she was not Kallen.
• Kallen arrived carrying Judah and Hiyoumaru, stepped in front of Nocturne, and angrily challenged Otto.
• Otto saw that Kallen and Nocturne looked identical and struggled to understand how there could be two of them.
• Kallen and Nocturne stayed silent as Otto put away his gun and apologized.
• Otto accepted Kallen as the real Kallen, then asked her who Nocturne was.

Kallen introduced Nocturne to Otto as another version of herself, and the three sat down to discuss how Nocturne had appeared. Nocturne began a cautious explanation, asking Otto whether he knew about parallel worlds.

• Kallen told Otto that Nocturne was another version of her, born from her phantom-thief side.
• Otto accepted Kallen's explanation and invited her and Nocturne inside to talk.
• Otto led the two Kallens to his study, served them water, and asked what had happened.
• Nocturne decided she could not reveal the Ai-chan System or her travels between worlds, so she prepared a partly false explanation for Otto.
• Nocturne asked Otto whether he knew about the theory of parallel worlds.

Nocturne explained to Otto that she was a separated part of Kallen’s will, then asked whether he had considered replacing his father as Schicksal’s Archbishop. Otto revealed that he had already been preparing to take control, though he still lacked the power to displace Schicksal’s leaders.

• Otto recognized Nocturne’s claim as one involving parallel worlds and asked whether she was Kallen from another world.
• Nocturne said she was a part of Kallen that had separated from her main will and become independent.
• Otto accepted Nocturne’s explanation, while Kallen looked confused.
• Nocturne asked Otto whether he had considered replacing his father as Schicksal’s Archbishop.
• Otto questioned Nocturne’s motives, and she guessed that he had already made plans to take control of Schicksal.
• Otto’s preparations had begun while Kallen was being hunted, but he still lacked the ability to replace Schicksal’s powerful leaders or his cautious father.

Nocturne persuaded Otto to take his father's place in Heavenly Mandate and hinted that she would help him gain control of the organization. She withheld the three promises she would eventually demand, while Kallen struggled to follow their conversation.

• Nocturne offered to help Otto speed up his progress, and Otto was struck by how much her smile resembled Kallen's.
• Otto questioned Nocturne about challenging Heavenly Mandate, and she told him to take his father's place.
• Nocturne explained that an outsider taking control would provoke resistance from Heavenly Mandate's personnel and brainwashed civilians.
• Otto asked what three things Nocturne wanted him to promise, but she said they would discuss them after the plan succeeded.
• Kallen felt depressed that Nocturne seemed smarter than her, then looked at Otto after their conversation ended.

Kallen asked Otto about Vera, the orphan they had raised together, and chose not to visit her because Kallen’s identity was too sensitive. The chapter then described how Vera and other women admired Otto before shifting to the very different appearance and defenses of Schicksal HQ in the fifteenth century.

• Kallen asked Otto where Vera was and whether she was all right.
• Otto told Kallen that Vera was doing well and offered to bring her over.
• Kallen declined to see Vera, deciding it was inappropriate given her sensitive identity.
• The narration explained that Vera admired Otto, became captain of his personal guard, and took the name Otto Vera.
• The narration contrasted the medieval Schicksal HQ with its heavily defended, futuristic twenty-first-century counterpart.

Ten Titan Mechs, led by the golden Titan Godfather, attacked Schicksal HQ and smashed through its outer guards. Schicksal forces, including Valkyries and other reinforcements, rushed to confront them.

• Ten Titan Mechs appeared before Schicksal HQ, with the golden Titan Godfather leading seven melee Titans and three long-range Titans behind them.
• Schicksal's guards raised their shields and greatswords to stop the approaching machines.
• The seven melee Titans charged into the guards and sent soldiers flying with their iron fists.
• Schicksal's patrols and guard units, including Valkyries, modified super soldiers, and knights, rushed to support the defenders.
• Countless warriors poured out from Schicksal HQ as its forces reacted to the Titan attack.

Schicksal’s defenders attacked the Titan Mechs at HQ, but the Golden Titan’s shield reflected their damage and left them unable to fight back. The Titans then charged the surrounding soldiers.

• Schicksal’s Valkyries and knights mistook the Titan Mechs for invading monsters and opened fire.
• The bullets barely dented the Titan Mechs, so an A-rank Valkyrie captain charged the Golden Titan with her spear.
• The Golden Titan activated its red damage-reflection shield, causing the captain to collapse from her own attack.
• Other defenders discovered that their attacks were reflected as well, and more than a dozen soldiers fell beside the Titan Godfather.
• The defenders pulled back, and the Titan Mechs charged toward the surrounding Schicksal soldiers.